The district of Jogjakarta, the official name of which is Daerah Istimewa Jogjakarta, lies approximately in the middle of the island of Java. Since the proclamation of the Republic of Indonesia in August 1945 it has been part of this state. Before the second world war the greater part of this area belonged to the Sultanate of Jogjakarta, while during the military government of the Japanese occupation it had the status of a Special Province, which status it now has also within the structure of the Indonesian Republic.
Fig. 1.
As compared to the other provinces the Special Province of Jogjakartaha1 the smallest area viz. 3168.8 square kilometres and the population in 1958 amounted to 2.1 million. The district is therefore very densely populated.
The extreme northern tip of the D.I. Jogjakarta is the summit of the still active volcano Gunung Merapi, rising to a height of 2911 meters. On the south the D.I. Jogjakarta is bounded by the Indian Ocean. Within it we can distinguish four regions. The administrative division of this district being practically identical with these regions, we can use the names of the administrative units “kabupaten” in this description.
Fig. 2.
In the centre of the D.I. Jogjakarta lies the town of jogjakarta at a height of 105 meter above sea-level. At the end of 1958 this town had a population of 302,000. Jogjakarta is the only large town in this district.
North of the town of Jogjakarta lies the kabupaten Sleman. This kabupaten consists of a part of the southern slope of the Merapi. The upper parts above 1,000 meters are not inhabited. Lower down the slope has a very fertile soil and consists for 55 per cent. Of fertile paddy-fields. On the west slemanis bounded by the river Krasak, which joins the Progo. This river forms the futher boundary. In the east the boundary goes just beyond the river Opak. The density of the population increases from north to south. In this part of the D.I. Jogjakarta lived well over 502,000 people at the end of 1958.
South of capital lies the kabupaten Bantul. This country slopes down very gradually towards the coast. The capital of Jogjakarta lies at the 105 meter level, while Kretek close to the south coast is 15 meters above sea-level. Bantul, too, is a fertile part of the Daerah Istimewa Jogjakarta. More than 43 per cent. Of the area consists of inundated ricefields. Bantul is bounded on the west by the river Progo;the eastern boundary and the river Ojo partly coincide. In Bantul there lived over 460,000 people at the end of 1958. Before 1920 Sleman and Bantul together were on administrative unit, which bore the name of Mataram. Through a later administrative alteration this historical name disappeared.
The western part of D.I. Jogjakarta is called Kulon Progo, which Javanese name means west of the Progo. The region of Kulon Progo is divided into two parts by the chalky ridge of the Gunung Menoreh, a volcanic mountain ridge. In the north these mountains cover the larger part of Kulon Progo. The highest summit is Gunung Ajamajam (1,022 meters), situated in the north-west. Between the steep eastern spurs of the Menoreh mountains and the river Progo there is another fertile strip of paddy-fields. South of the mountains is a fertile plain used for ricefields, fertilized by weathering products from these mountains. The difference in fertility between the northern and the southern parts of Kulon Progo becomes obvious through the areas which appear to be suitable for rice-growing. The strip of Kulon Progo bordering on the south-coast consists for 35 per cent. Of paddy-fields,whereas of the northern part only sixteen per cent. Can be used for rice-growing purposes. The chief town of this kabupaten is Wates. The number of inhabitants of Kulon Progo was 336,000 at the of 1958.
The eastern part of the Daerah Istimewa is called Gunung Kidul. This name means southern mountains. The mountains that gave this kabupaten its name extend along part of the south coast of the island of Java from the river Opak as far as East-Java past the city of Malang. Only the western wing lies within the D.I. Jogjakarta. The extreme south westerly part of this massive, bounded by the seaboard, has a name of its own on account of its peculiar form. This bare chalk reef consists of innumerable cone-shaped mounds rising to upwards of 300 meters with in between as many small valleys. This appearance gave rise to the name of Gunung Sewu meaning a thousand mountains. The southern mountains show on the west side, in the direction of the plain of Bantul, and on the north in the direction of the plain of Solo a steep precipice. Towards the centre of the kabupaten, where Wonosari is situated, the mountains slope very gradually to the Wonosari is situated, the mountains slope very gradually to the Wonosari-basin, which is enclosed by the mountain massive on all sides. The southern mountains have summits as high as 680 meters in the north and of 328 meters in the south. The place of Wonosari lies at 170 meters. Both the mountains and the plateau consist of porous chalky soil and have a serious lack of water. The area of this kabupaten is dry and owing to this barren. Only 4½ per cent. appear to be suitable for wet paddy-fields. That is why there is much more agriculture in dry fields in which crops are grown with lower nutritive value than rice. Gunung Kidul had 520,000 people at the end of 1958.
- In the next pages it is indicated as D.I. Jogjakarta. The town of Jogjakarta is meant when the abbreviation D.I. Is omitted. [↩]